


Imaginary Friend

by Starofwinter



Category: Star Wars Prequel Trilogy
Genre: Gen, Hallucinations, Imaginary Friends
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-30
Updated: 2017-01-30
Packaged: 2018-09-20 19:52:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 449
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9510419
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Starofwinter/pseuds/Starofwinter
Summary: Boba can't accept his father's death.





	

Boba listens to his father’s humming as they cook together, an old Mandalorian song he knows like he knows his own heartbeat.  They’re on their way to another hunt and it’s still just like it was before Geonosis - he was so afraid of being alone, but by the time he reached his father’s ship, Jango was waiting for him just like always.  Boba took off in the chaos, heading for… well, he wasn’t sure, but he put in the coordinates his  _ buir  _ told him to, and that was that.

This is the first hunt he’s taken since then; Jango told him that he’s an adult now  and can start building his own reputation.  Boba is a little scared, but he won’t show it - after all, his father promised to be right there with him, even when he doesn’t always see him.  

“Buir, why won’t I be able to talk to you, if you’re still going to be there?”

“Would it be easier if I stayed with the ship?” Jango asks, and then ruffles Boba’s hair when he shakes his head quickly, “I’m letting you take responsibility for this one.  It’s about time you did, and you need to learn to speak up for yourself out there.”  He smiles and leans back against the counter while Boba pours out the pancakes, waiting till they bubble to flip them.  “You’re a man now, not a little boy.  You’ll be alright.  Just watch your back out there.”

Boba nods, stacking the cakes on two plates, carrying them to the table.  “I won’t let you down,  _ buir _ , I promise.”  He smiles as he sits across from his father, digging into the pancakes as they talk about the details of the bounty.

Even when he goes to clean up, he doesn’t notice that his father never ate the pancakes..

He does notice that no one acknowledges Jango’s presence, but he chalks it up to the rudeness of the  _ aruetii _ , and keeps his helmet’s comm off when they talk.  He can hear his father’s voice clearly, and that’s what is important.  

As he grows older, he notices more and more that something is odd  about his father - he doesn’t age, he doesn’t change and his armor never gathers dirt or dents on their hunts, but… his  _ buir  _ is there.  That’s what matters.

Jango is there, in the middle of the night when he can’t sleep, to tell him stories of Mandalore, of their clan, of his hunts.  Jango is there to rub his back when he’s sick, and to hold him when he cries - whether it’s from pain or anger or sorrow, he’s  _ there _ .  

Boba isn’t alone, as long as his  _ buir  _ is with him.

**Author's Note:**

> Some kids have imaginary friends, Boba has an imaginary father.


End file.
